# Offshore Betting Apps in India - Banned by the 2025 Act Source: https://cricketin.org/legal/offshore-betting-apps-india [By Ananya Rathi](/authors/legal-writer), Legal and Compliance Writer. [Reviewed by Rajeev Sathe](/authors/editor-in-chief), Editor-in-Chief. Updated 26 Aug 2026. Editorial policy: https://cricketin.org/editorial-policy 18+ Betting money on cricket carries a direct risk of financial loss, and it can become an addiction. Real-money online gaming is banned across India under the PROG Act 2025, which came into force on 1 May 2026. If betting is already costing you money you need, or sleep, or people close to you, the free Tele-MANAS helpline is **14416**, and it runs in 20 languages. Our [page on help for gambling harm](/guides/help-for-gambling-harm-india) lists what else exists. --- Why a Curacao or Malta licence does not help an Indian user: the Act reaches offshore services, Section 7 blocks payments and Section 14 allows blocking. A foreign licence does not make an app lawful for you. Section 1(2) of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROG Act) covers money games run from outside India for users here. Section 7 stops banks and others from moving the money. Section 14 lets the service be blocked. This page sets out the reach of the Act. Then what happens to payments, what a block looks like on a phone, and who the Act really punishes. ## Offshore means a server, not a shield An offshore app is just one run by a firm based outside India. The word sounds legal. It only tells you about geography. Indian law does not ask where the firm sits. Look at Section 1(2) of the PROG Act. The Act covers the whole of India. It also covers a money gaming service run from outside India for people here ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). That one clause is why the offshore model solves nothing for a user in India. [Nishith Desai](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586) reads the Act the same way. It applies to foreign firms that offer money games to users in India. The Act took effect on 1 May 2026, along with its Rules ([Nishith Desai](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586)). ## What a foreign licence really is Apps put a licence line in the footer for a reason. It looks like an official stamp. Here is what it really is. It is leave from another country's watchdog, to trade under that country's rules. So it answers a question about the operator. It says nothing about your own position under Indian law. No source we have read describes a foreign licence that carves out an exception to Section 1(2) ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). Indian licences did exist once. They were narrow. In Sikkim, play had to stay inside Sikkim, be geo-fenced, and be run by a firm set up in India. In Nagaland, skill-game licences needed an Indian firm, Indian servers and no gambling interests anywhere ([ICLG](https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/india)). Now compare that with a footer badge from a tiny island. You can see the gap. The detail sits on [our state law page](/legal/state-by-state). ## The money route: Section 7 Money is the real pressure point. Section 7 names three groups. Banks, financial institutions, and any other person. None of them may handle money for a money gaming service ([Nishith Desai](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586)). [PRS Legislative Research](https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-promotion-and-regulation-of-online-gaming-bill-2025) lists the same ban in its Bill summary. The Rules then hand the watchdog a lever. The Online Gaming Authority of India can send an order, and we call it the Authority here. A bank or payment firm must then pause, limit or stop moving money for a game ruled to be a money game. It must also hand over facts or help ([Nishith Desai](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586)). The penalty is not small. Break Section 7 and Section 9(3) applies. That is up to three years in jail, or a fine up to ₹1 crore. A repeat runs through Section 9(4). Then the floor is three years and ₹1 crore. At the top end it is five years and ₹2 crore ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). Now stand in a payment firm's shoes. One wrong route brings criminal risk. So the safe move is to block anything that smells of gaming money and ask later. That is the machinery behind most failed transfers. Our guide to [frozen payments](/guides/payment-freeze-and-chargebacks) covers the user side. [UPI and gaming payments](/guides/upi-and-online-gaming-payments) covers the rails. ## Blocking, and what a user actually sees Section 14 is the switch. It works where Section 5, 6 or 7 is broken. Facts about that money gaming service can then be blocked from public view. The route is the one in Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). Nishith Desai reads the order power as reaching cloud hosts and ad platforms too ([Nishith Desai](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586)). Tax law has its own blocking tool. The IGST change adds a duty. An offshore seller of online money gaming must register in India under a simple scheme. Where it does not register or does not pay, public access to it can be blocked ([TaxGuru](https://taxguru.in/goods-and-service-tax/supplies-online-gaming-casino-gst-implications.html)). [ICLG](https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/india) puts the same point in a line. Tax officers can block the sites of foreign operators that do not comply. On a phone a block rarely looks like a court order. It looks like a site that will not load. Or an app that vanishes from the store. Or a deposit that fails with no reason given. That is worth knowing. A blocked service usually keeps pushing traffic somewhere. Mirror domains and sideloaded files are the next step, and both bring their own risks. Read [the risks of installing APK files](/guides/apk-sideloading-risks) and [how to spot a fake cricket app](/guides/how-to-spot-a-fake-cricket-app) before you go that way. ## Who the Act punishes, honestly split We get asked this a lot. So here is the careful version. Section 9 ties a penalty to three acts. Each act has a named target. **Table 1. Who each prohibition is aimed at** | Provision | Aimed at | Punishment on first conviction | |---|---|---| | Section 5 with 9(1) | Anyone offering a money game or money gaming service, including aiding, abetting or inducing that offering | Up to 3 years in jail, or a fine up to ₹1 crore, or both | | Section 6 with 9(2) | Anyone making or helping to make an ad for a money game | Up to 2 years in jail, or a fine up to ₹50 lakh, or both | | Section 7 with 9(3) | Banks, financial institutions and any other person moving the money | Up to 3 years in jail, or a fine up to ₹1 crore, or both | Every figure in Table 1 is read from the text of the Act on [India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220). The wording on aiding comes from [Nishith Desai Associates](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586). Offering the service is cognisable and non-bailable. Police may act with no court order, and bail is not a right ([PRS](https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-promotion-and-regulation-of-online-gaming-bill-2025)). Now the honest limit. Not one of those three lines says "a person who places a bet". The criminal weight of this Act falls on operators, promoters and payment handlers. That is what the text says. We have found no published case or order applying Section 9 to an ordinary player. We will not guess at one. Anyone with a live problem needs a lawyer who can look at their own facts. Two cautions still belong here. Aiding and inducing the offer of a money game are separate acts inside Section 5 ([Nishith Desai](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586)). And older state gambling Acts still sit beside the central Act ([ICLG](https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/india)). Low criminal risk is not the same as no risk. ## The risks that are certain either way Set the criminal question aside for a moment. Some problems arrive with no case at all. - **Your money sits with a firm you cannot reach.** A blocked offshore site is hard to chase. Indian payment channels may also refuse to move funds for it under Section 7 ([Nishith Desai](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586)). - **Your papers sit somewhere unclear.** KYC files handed to an unlicensed app are out of your hands. See [data privacy on gaming apps](/guides/data-privacy-on-gaming-apps). - **Agent accounts add a stranger to the chain.** Read [how cricket ID and agent accounts work](/guides/cricket-id-and-agent-accounts). - **The odds take a cut of their own.** That is maths, not law. See [the fee built into the odds](/guides/what-is-overround). ## The advertising trap around offshore apps Offshore sites rarely run ads in India now. They use lookalike news sites, sports blogs and social posts instead. Government advisories have already named that pattern. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting acted on it. It told all endorsers and creators on social media to stop pushing offshore betting and gambling sites. Surrogate ads were named too ([Press Information Bureau](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2015952)). Ad networks were told not to aim such content at Indian users. Social media firms were asked to teach their users the rule ([PIB](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2015952)). The named results are not theory. A case under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Take-down or blocking of posts or accounts. Penal action under other laws ([PIB](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2015952)). Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act is cited as well. A platform loses its safe harbour if it leaves flagged unlawful material up ([PIB](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2015952)). Now add Section 6 of the PROG Act. It bans ads for a money game, direct or indirect ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). Our page on [ad rules for online gaming](/legal/advertising-rules-online-gaming) works through what counts as indirect. ## The tax duty that follows an offshore operator Tax law reached offshore gaming before the ban did. That history explains many of the sudden exits from the Indian market. The CGST change made registration a must. It bites on a person who supplies online money gaming from outside India to a person in India ([TaxGuru](https://taxguru.in/goods-and-service-tax/supplies-online-gaming-casino-gst-implications.html)). The IGST change added Section 14A. It gives one simple registration and a way to pay integrated tax. It also allows a block where the seller does not register or does not pay ([TaxGuru](https://taxguru.in/goods-and-service-tax/supplies-online-gaming-casino-gst-implications.html)). [ICLG](https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/india) sets out the same duty in one line. Foreign real-money gaming firms must register through a simple process to meet their GST duties. So an offshore operator faced a registration duty, a tax bill, and now a criminal ban as well. Our [GST page](/legal/gst-on-online-gaming) works through the rate and the value base. ## If your money is already stuck offshore This is the message we get most often. The balance shows on screen. The payout will not go through. Support answers with a script. There is no clean fix. There is a sensible order. - **Stop adding money.** Each new deposit raises what is exposed. It buys you no leverage. - **Save the proof now.** Screenshots of the balance, payment references and the support chat. Do it before an app leaves your phone. - **Ask your bank in writing.** A refused or reversed payment is a bank matter first. Our guide to [frozen payments and chargebacks](/guides/payment-freeze-and-chargebacks) sets out the steps. - **Do not chase it through a middleman.** Agent accounts add a person who answers to nobody. See [cricket ID and agent accounts](/guides/cricket-id-and-agent-accounts). - **Treat recovery offers as a second scam.** A stranger who offers to unlock your balance for a fee is selling you the same problem twice. We cannot tell you the money will come back. We can tell you this. The legal machinery is now built to stop that money moving at all ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). Is the loss hitting your sleep, your work or your family? Then start with [help for gambling harm in India](/guides/help-for-gambling-harm-india). Also look at [self-exclusion and deposit limits](/guides/self-exclusion-and-limits). ## How to read an offshore app's legal claim Most claims come in four shapes. Each has a short answer. - "Licensed and regulated abroad." That is a fact about another country. The Indian test sits in Section 1(2) ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). - "Skill games are legal in India." Not since the Act put skill and chance in one box ([PRS Legislative Research](https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-promotion-and-regulation-of-online-gaming-bill-2025)). - "The ban is being challenged in court." True, and it changes nothing today. The case is open ([Supreme Court Observer](https://www.scobserver.in/cases/challenge-to-the-promotion-and-regulation-of-online-gaming-act-2025/)). Reports in August 2026 describe only steps of procedure ([theIGaming](https://theigaming.eu/2026/08/07/india-supreme-court-final-hearing-online-gaming-act-2025/)). - "We are an e-sports or social gaming site." That claim is under the microscope. A public interest plea asks for orders against sites that dress money gaming up that way ([theIGaming](https://theigaming.eu/2026/08/07/india-supreme-court-final-hearing-online-gaming-act-2025/)). For the wider position start at [the legal hub](/legal). Then read [the direct answer on legality](/legal/online-betting-law-india) and [the section-by-section guide](/legal/prog-act-2025-explained). Have losses already piled up? [Help for gambling harm in India](/guides/help-for-gambling-harm-india) lists what exists. ## Questions people ask ### Does a Curacao or Malta licence make an app legal in India? No. Under Section 1(2) the Act covers money gaming services run from outside India for users in India ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). ### Why did my deposit fail? Section 7 stops banks and other parties from handling money for a money gaming service. The Rules let the Authority order them to stop ([Nishith Desai](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586)). ### Can an offshore site be blocked in India? Yes. Section 14 allows a block through the Section 69A route in the IT Act, 2000 ([India Code](https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/view-casepdf?type=act&id=AC_CEN_45_0_00004_2025-32_1778133559220)). Tax officers have their own power to block foreign operators that do not comply ([ICLG](https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/india)). ### Am I committing an offence by placing a bet? Section 9 punishes offering, advertising and funding these services. We have found no published case that applies it to an ordinary player. So we tag that point rather than answer it for your case. ### Is promoting such an app risky? Yes. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has warned endorsers and creators off promoting offshore betting sites. Surrogate ads are named too ([Press Information Bureau](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2015952)). ## More from the legal hub - [Is Online Cricket Betting Legal in India](/legal/online-betting-law-india) - [PROG Act 2025 Explained](/legal/prog-act-2025-explained) - [State Gambling Laws in India](/legal/state-by-state) - [Supreme Court on Online Gaming](/legal/supreme-court-online-gaming-cases) - [TDS on Online Gaming Winnings](/legal/tds-on-winnings-india) - [Online Gaming Ad Rules in India](/legal/advertising-rules-online-gaming) - [GST on Online Gaming in India](/legal/gst-on-online-gaming) - [Cricket ID and Agent Accounts](/guides/cricket-id-and-agent-accounts) - [Data Privacy on Gaming Apps in India](/guides/data-privacy-on-gaming-apps) - [Caribbean Premier League 2026 — live schedule and table](/leagues/cpl)